COMPARATIVE BIOACTIVITY OF SILVER, ALUMINUM OXIDE, AND ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES ON THE HOUSE FLY “MUSCA DOMESTICA L. (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE)”

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to identify and compare the biological consequences of three nanoparticles (NPs): “silver, aluminum oxide, and zinc oxide” against the house fly “ Musca domestica L.”. The NPs were applied by feeding the early second instar larvae on diets mixed with the selected NPs at varying concentrations (5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 60 mg/g diet). The consequences demonstrated that all the tested NPs were toxic to M . domestica larvae. Silver NPs were the most toxic, induced 100% larval mortalities at 40 mg/g diet and its toxicity index was 100. Median lethal concentration values (LC 50 ) were 20.8, 38.7, and 49.6 mg/g diet for Ag, Al 2 O 3, and ZnO NPs, respectively. The tested NPs caused a significant prolongation ( P <0.05) in larval and pupal period. The pupation percent and adult emergence decreased significantly ( P <0.05) by all NPs as contrasted to the control group. All the tested NPs caused a reduction in the larval and pupal weights. In addition,